


Major Milestone

by lovekernel



Category: Sweet/Vicious (TV)
Genre: Jules teaches Ophelia how to ride a bike, thats it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 23:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11611308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovekernel/pseuds/lovekernel





	Major Milestone

Jules twisted around to face Ophelia on the couch. "You don't know how to ride a bike? What! How has this never come up before?"

Ophelia shrugged. "You've never asked me to ride a bike...?"

"Your parents never taught you?"

Ophelia shook her head.

"I'm confused. How have you gotten this far in life without ever riding a bike?"

"Believe it or not, Jules, it's actually not an essential skill."

"What did you do when you were a kid? Like, in the summer? I swear I spent half my life out on my bike."

"I told you before, I spent a lot of time in front of the computer growing up. I wasn't outdoorsy like little Girl Scout Jules Thomas."

"How did you know I was a Girl Scout?" Ophelia grinned satisfactorily and Jules rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you can't cycle. I'll teach you."

"No."

"Why not? I taught you how to fight. This'll be way easier."

"I don't want to learn."

"Why not?"

"I don't have to."

"What if someday you need to make a quick getaway and the only vehicle available to you is a bike?"

Ophelia scoffed. "I'll run."

"You're not that fast," Jules said, shaking her head. Ophelia's mouth gaped open, offended.  
"Anyway," said Jules, "that's not why you learn. It's really fun and like, totally freeing. You'll love it."

"Ehh..."

Jules stood up and took Ophelia's hand to drag her up too. "Come on, lets go!"

After Jules finally got Ophelia to agree to a cycling lesson, and they decided that the street outside Ophelia's apartment was too busy and that everywhere else near and around campus was "too public", in Ophelia's words, they put Jules's bike in the back of Ophelia's car and drove out to an empty parking lot behind a closed office building.

Ophelia stood with her hands on her hips and gazed around at the pink sky. "The sun's going down. How long do you think this will take?"

"Not long," replied Jules, walking around from the car with her bike.

"How long did it take you to learn?"

"Um, as far as I know, my mom took off my stabilisers and I just went."

"Sounds very Jules. How old were you?"

"Five."

"They let a five year-old ride off on her own?" Ophelia said, outraged.

"You make it sound like my parents just rolled me into traffic. They didn't let me go further than the end of the street by myself."

"Did you have a bright pink bike back then too?" Ophelia could easily picture a tiny Jules on a tiny version of the bike in front of her.

"No, it was green. Hand-me-down from my cousin. I wanted a pink one though." She smiled and patted the bike frame affectionately. "This is a wish fulfilled."

"I'm very happy for you both. Did you name her?"

"Shut up." Jules held the bike steady by the handlebars and the saddle. She gestured to Ophelia with her chin. "Hop on."

Ophelia awkwardly swung her leg over the top tube and gripped the handlebars. She hopped onto the seat and found she could only touch the ground with her toes. She felt a jolt of panic go through her and let go of one of the handles to grab Jules's arm.

"You're okay, I'm holding the brakes," said Jules.

"Am I meant to be so high off the ground?" Ophelia asked nervously.

"You're fine. We're the same height," said Jules, looking at how Ophelia's feet were positioned.

"It seems really high."

"It should be okay. Unless your legs are shorter. Press down on the pedal so your leg is extended... yeah, that looks right."

"It doesn't feel right. None of this feels right." Ophelia dropped both her feet to the ground again and started to dismount. Jules pushed back on the bike, keeping Ophelia upright.

"Chill out. It'll feel great once you get the hang of it." She gave Ophelia a reassuring pat on the back. "I gotta say, I feel pretty honoured to be the one to teach you this."

"That's nice." Ophelia swallowed hard and Jules instinctively took a step back before remembering she was holding Ophelia up.

"You can't seriously want to throw up right now."

"I can't help it. I'm nervous."

"I'm holding onto you. I am not going to let anything happen to you," Jules said in such a sure and steady way that Ophelia instantly felt a wave of calm wash over her. It was quickly replaced with a crash of fear though when she felt the bike shake under her. Jules had taken her hand off the saddle and put it on Ophelia's waist.

"Put both your feet on the pedals...I've got you, okay, you won't fall over," Jules said.

Ophelia took a few seconds to lift her feet off the ground and as soon as she did get them both placed on the pedals she leaned into Jules's body for balance.

Jules smiled. "How does that feel?"

"Uncomfortable," Ophelia replied through gritted teeth.

"You'll get used to it quickly. Okay, I'm going to let go of the handlebars in a second and then you're going to start pedalling."

"I'm not sure about this, Jules."

"You'll be fine. I'm going to hold onto you until you until you don't need me anymore."

Ophelia let out a false chuckle. "You'll be holding on a long time then."

Jules laughed. "I doubt it. I believe in you." She rubbed Ophelia's back and quickly replaced her hand on her waist. "Remember, I taught you how to fight, I know you're a quick learner."

Ophelia shook her head. "This is different. I'm not in control."

"Is that what scares you about it?"

Ophelia didn't reply. Her eyes were closed as she took a deep breath.

"Don't close your eyes while you're moving, okay?" Jules said with a laugh.

"Mmm." Ophelia kept her lips tightly closed.

Jules looked at Ophelia's face and found it pale. She automatically regretted putting her on a bike in the first place. She rested her thumb on Ophelia's hand. "Hey, if you really don't want to do this we can just forget about it. It doesn't matter."

Ophelia shook her head firmly. "We got this far. Don't know if I could do it again. It's now or never, Thomas."

Jules looked her up and down, taking in Ophelia's screwed eyelids and her white-knuckled grip on the handlebars. "You're sure?"

"Yep." Ophelia opened her eyes. "Let's do this."

"I won't let go of the handles until you're moving, okay?"

Ophelia nodded. "Can we just get this over with?"

Jules got closer to Ophelia and tightened her hold around her. She let go of the brake. "Start pedalling. Go as slow as you want."

Ophelia pressed down on the pedals and started moving forward. True to her word, Jules walked beside her, holding her steady. They started to go faster and Ophelia closed her eyes again.

"O, open your eyes, you're doing it!"

Ophelia opened her eyes and watched Jules let go of the handlebars. She panicked for a second, but quickly found that everything was fine. The bike wouldn't turn unless she wanted it to. She was in control.

Ophelia cycled at a steady pace for a few minutes. She was so focused on steering that she didn't notice that Jules had let go of her waist until she turned the bike around and looked up to see her watching from her seat on the hood of the car. Ophelia cycled back to her.

"Brakes!" Jules called out as she got up to meet her. Ophelia pulled on them and stopped abruptly right in front of her.

Jules jumped up and down on the spot and clapped. "You did it!"

"You let go!" said Ophelia, happy now to have both feet flat on the ground.

"You didn't need me anymore," Jules replied, smiling wide. She reached up and ruffled Ophelia's hair. "I'm so proud of you!"

Ophelia slapped her hand away and pushed her hair back from her face. "Probably looked pretty shaky."

"You looked great," Jules said, grinning, "and you'll get better with practice. Do you wanna go again?"

Ophelia nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

She turned the bike around and set off, much more confidently this time. She spun around the parking lot for a while, chatting with Jules as she went and slowly cycling began to feel natural.

Eventually it got dark and they stowed the bike away in the car. Before she started the engine, Ophelia turned to Jules in the seat beside her. "Thanks for teaching me."

Jules beamed. "Thanks for letting me teach you. I feel like I'm part of your history of major milestones now. Your parents get walking and talking. Other people witnessed you getting your drivers licence, your first job, your first kiss--"

"Losing my virginity..."

"But I'll always be the one who taught Ophelia Mayer how to ride a bike. How many people can say that for their friends?"

Ophelia shook her head and chuckled as she drove the car out onto the road. "You are so cheesy."


End file.
